Two-time cancer survivor Melissa Owens of Portland gave out 600 hugs to set a new record.

Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square was the Friday night meeting place for the flash mob.Connecting hundreds of lives touched by cancer was the motivation.

Exploding party poppers was a big part of the fun.Breaking the world record for hugging was one of the goals.Starting a dialogue that will continue long after the event was the end result.

“An event like this gets the conversation rolling,” said Melissa Owens, 30, a two-time cancer survivor who helped organize the afternoon flash mob to celebrate young cancer survivors, the people who love and care for them, and to remember those who lost their lives to the disease.

Owens said plans for the flash mob were put in place months ago. The idea then gained the support of members of Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute’s Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) program. The flash mob brought together doctors and nurses who treat cancer patients, caregivers and family and friends of loved ones who didn’t survive the disease. There were even a few participants who got caught up in the moment who may not have known what the event was all about, Owens said.

Owens kicked things off by orchestrating a communal noise-making event—the ripping apart of party poppers. This video captures the flash mob, which was 63 people strong, as it set the URDB World Record for most people to simultaneously shout "break cancer" and deploy party poppers:

After the noise making, there was some good old-fashioned chatting, much of which was about the fabulous weather.

That’s when Owens embarked upon a personal goal to break a hugging record. She gave out 600 hugs, surpassing the previous URDB world record of 575 hugs.“It was pretty inspiring,” said Owens, who lives in Sellwood. “It was really great to see the camaraderie.”

Owens’ hugging record was the fifth URDB record to be set by supporters of the OHSU AYA program at the Knight Cancer Institute. On Tuesday, the Knight Cancer Institute faculty and staff along with members of the AYA External Advisory Committee created a video to chronicle their effort to earn the world record for the longest standing ovation for cancer survivors.